Within the last week or so I've been to two sports day, and my own is only a few months off. If you don't know about sports day in Japan, here's a quick wikipedia description:
"Sports day, called undokai in Japanese, is usually held on a Saturday or Sunday in Japanese schools. During weeks preceeding the sports day, students practice their events which they would like to show their parents and friends, within their class of physical education, which often includes tamaire, performances by the school band, and presentations by various school clubs as well as individual and group competitive events. These practices, and the sports days themselves, normally take place on the schools' fields, which provides little relief from the heat and sun."
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
It feels like summer, but it's JUST SPRING.
Hello friends, it's been just over a month since I said I'd start updating more frequently. Hahaha. Sorry about that, I really am, and I'd like to say I have some excuse like only getting half an hour to myself everyday or I've been frantically translating for everyone in my city, but I haven't. That's okay.
Also, I've been aprehensive about updating here because, well, I'm not really sure what I want here to be. Before I knew what it was like to be an exchange student I had all these plans for things I'd do, and would still like to, without knowing the complete exhaustion that comes with only understanding about 55% of what's going on when you're not being talked to with a clear voice using vocabulary you understand. It's rough, and I'm always tired, but I've found that spending time actively talking in Japanese and enjoying myself, whether it's in Kendo or making jokes with friends or relaxing with my mom, it really helps dull the exhaustion. Sometimes it's still there and I'm unable to remember a single word, therefore losing the meaning of an entire paragraph, but it's manageable and getting better everyday.
To combat the confusion and exhaustion, I've been writing a lot more. I don't know, maybe it was two years of being taught to the AP test exactly what writing should look like (which I did voluntarily), but I haven't been reading or writing much for myself since Freshman year. Now I am, and I'm singing at karaoke clubs, and exploring cities with a friend on the back of my bike. It's nice, so I would like my blog to reflect that. Maybe I'll be updating with weird thought processes, or an essay I write in class about something that happened that day, or an open letter to people who talk about me thinking I don't understand them; maybe it will be art, maybe it will be angry. The only truth I can offer to you now is that it'll be honest, and hopefully you'll come to understand what I'm feeling like, here in a big city where I think I belong.
To end, I'm including my daily schedule because maybe I play it down, it's pretty crazy, but it's better then a lot of Japanese highschoolers.
Also, I've been aprehensive about updating here because, well, I'm not really sure what I want here to be. Before I knew what it was like to be an exchange student I had all these plans for things I'd do, and would still like to, without knowing the complete exhaustion that comes with only understanding about 55% of what's going on when you're not being talked to with a clear voice using vocabulary you understand. It's rough, and I'm always tired, but I've found that spending time actively talking in Japanese and enjoying myself, whether it's in Kendo or making jokes with friends or relaxing with my mom, it really helps dull the exhaustion. Sometimes it's still there and I'm unable to remember a single word, therefore losing the meaning of an entire paragraph, but it's manageable and getting better everyday.
To combat the confusion and exhaustion, I've been writing a lot more. I don't know, maybe it was two years of being taught to the AP test exactly what writing should look like (which I did voluntarily), but I haven't been reading or writing much for myself since Freshman year. Now I am, and I'm singing at karaoke clubs, and exploring cities with a friend on the back of my bike. It's nice, so I would like my blog to reflect that. Maybe I'll be updating with weird thought processes, or an essay I write in class about something that happened that day, or an open letter to people who talk about me thinking I don't understand them; maybe it will be art, maybe it will be angry. The only truth I can offer to you now is that it'll be honest, and hopefully you'll come to understand what I'm feeling like, here in a big city where I think I belong.
To end, I'm including my daily schedule because maybe I play it down, it's pretty crazy, but it's better then a lot of Japanese highschoolers.
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